Meghan Markle’s Dad, Thomas Markle, Found Out About Meghan’s Pregnancy The Same Way You Did

The Duchess' estranged father learned of the pregnancy by reading about it in the news.

The Duchess' estranged father learned of the pregnancy by reading about it in the news.

Meghan Markle is by far the most famous woman to announce this week that she’s pregnant, but the baby’s grandfather -Thomas Markle, Meghan’s dad – found out about it the same way that you did: by reading about it in the news on Monday morning.

As Us Magazine reports, an anonymous source close to Harry and Meghan confirms that the Duchess of Sussex didn’t bother to tell her dad that he’s going to be a grandfather, apparently figuring that he’d find out soon enough once the news of their pregnancy blew up the celebrity media, as it did on Monday.

As you are well aware, it was on Monday – two days after Prince Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, tied the knot – that Kensington Palace announced that Meghan was in a family way. By most estimates, the royal bun has been in the oven for about 12-15 weeks now.

So why did they wait so long? A few reasons, probably. For starters, announcing their pregnancy while all of the British press was preparing for the wedding of Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, would have stolen some of her thunder and would have been untoward. Then there are the biological realities of a pregnancy, especially a first pregnancy – that is to say, the later in a pregnancy the mom is, the less likely she is to miscarry. Several couples like to wait until they’re past a certain point in the pregnancy to announce it, so they don’t get everyone excited only to be disappointed (and of course, devastated) when the mother miscarries.

The news of the royal pregnancy was unveiled early Monday, with Kensington Palace tweeting: "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019" https://t.co/FEUqeuuICW

Regardless, Thomas Markle Sr. didn’t find out about his daughter’s pregnancy until the rest of the world did.

Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, however, doubtless knew as soon as her daughter was comfortable telling her. A source says that the Duchess’ mother is thrilled beyond words at being a grandmother.

“Doria is so delighted about the news of her first grandchild. Doria has been helping Meghan through this time in her life immensely. Meghan really looks to Doria for all advice in anything she does.”

So why didn’t Meghan tell her father about her pregnancy privately, before the rest of the world learned of it? Rehashing the reasons the father and daughter are estranged from one another would require paragraph on paragraph of exposition, and if you’re reading this article, you’ve doubtless heard it all before anyway.

Meghan and Harry’s baby is due to arrive in the spring of 2019, likely around April or May.